Monday, April 11, 2011

Slow and steady wins the race

Guess what???? Tropicana is back and offering to give away a SECOND $100 Visa Gift card to a lucky reader!

To enter just help me answer the question....

"What are some of the simple things you do to keep your family healthy?"

I know that many times I am trying to think of something "big" and "grand" that will change the way we eat.... most times I don't come up with any viable solutions.... I think too BIG, which makes the idea not really practical for the way my family works.

What I've discovered lately is that it's much easier to find small things I can do on a daily basis to improve my family's health... You know, stick with the "slow and steady wins the race" mentality.

Now I will tell you I am no expert when it comes to healthy families. We have candy in our house, my kids ate take out pizza for dinner last night, and I will admit to a personal love of macaroni and cheese (especially the home made kind). However I can tell you some of the things that we do that work for us. Maybe they will work for you too? Maybe not... but here are some.

-We try to lead by example. My husband and I exercise on a regular basis. Now neither of us is "super fit " but we do try to show a consistent effort to stay active.

-We also try to keep our kids involved in some type of extracurricular activity, my oldest daughter plays for her High Schools Field Hockey team and the little kids are always trying out new things. We have yet to find something that will "stick" for my son, but we keep trying, and more importantly keep him active.

-We keep fresh food in the house. I'll admit it's been hard this winter to keep fresh fruits and veggies around, but I'm buying what looks good at the supermarket. I always try to keep a basket of apples on the kitchen counter, and some baby carrots in the fridge.

-Kids will eat most anything if they can dip it! I found that a little bit of ranch dressing goes a long way towards getting a kid to eat some broccoli, carrots or celery!

-We try to use the rule of moderation. I've never been a big believer of depriving yourself entirely of one type of food. A few years ago we started "Sundaes on Sunday." Aptly named by my son, because he thought ANY dessert you have on Sunday is called a Sundae! The name stuck and it's become a fun tradition. We always try to have dessert on Sunday, then not so much the rest of the week. The kids (and me) look forward to our Sunday desserts and no one feels deprived.

I mentioned earlier on this blog that for the new year I was trying to eat protein at breakfast. One of the ways that I've found to get protein in the morning is to make smoothies! I especially like to do this for my teenage daughter since she is ALWAYS late in the morning, and she can drink it on her way to school.

Here's a recipe for one of favorites. It's a take off of the famous orange ones at the mall... (you know what I'm talking about)... but a healthier version. It also makes a great after school snack!

Ingredients

2 C. Tropicana Orange Juice
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
dash of vanilla
2 scoops plain yogurt (get organic or something unsweetened if you can, yogurt sometimes has a lot of added sugar- you could also use vanilla yogurt, just eliminate the extra vanilla)
2 cups ice (fill up the blender with it)
If your kids are super picky and want something sweet, you can add in 1 T powdered sugar... it's up to you and how much you are watching your sugar intake.

Dump all the ingredients in a blender and mix well.

Now for the giveaway....

Tropicana is giving away a $100 Visa Gift card for one lucky reader!! To enter just let me know,

-What's something simple that you have done to make your family healthier?

I'd love to hear, I'm always on the look out for simple things with lots of impact!!

Pledge to squeeze more fruits and veggies into your day & Tropicana will
help kids in need. Tropicana will donate one 8-oz glass of orange juice to
the USDA School Breakfast and Summer Food Service programs, up to 184,375
8-oz glasses.

I wrote this post while participating in the Tropicana Pure Premium/BlogHer program on behalf of Tropicana Pure Premium. I received product information to facilitate my post and monetary compensation for the time to write my post.

My husband started prepping for a 5k (he sucks, hasn't ran for 7+ years and went and ran a mile in 7 min). I am 9 months preggo and wanted to do something so while he is running, my kids and I walk and ride bikes. The kids try and keep up with him and I just lag behind. . .

We started walking at least once or twice a day (1/2 mile each time); we are off white flour and use wheat flour whenever possible; and we are watching the amount of time we sleep (I could sleep around the clock which is not good for me).

My husband and I are HUGE on always having some sort of veggie with lunch and dinner. Sometimes I incorporate a veggie in our desserts. I have a wonderful brownie recipe that has zucchini in it. We also use whole wheat pasta and bread. We walk every chance we get (especially when the weather is nice).

We both try to exercise at least 3 times a week if not 4 times and when I cook from scratch I always cut the salt called for in a recipe in half so that our sodium intake is less (also we use our salt shaker very little). It is just the two of us so it is easy to keep the junk food at a minimum.Karenhttp://karensquilting.com/blog/

I found out I am allergic to gluten so that was a big push to really watch what is in our food. I can't have any prepackaged stuff so am using a lot more basic meat and veggie dishes.We joined the Y but so far sad to say we just pay for it instead of use it.

my boyfriend and i are logging how much we walk/run each week, we have a goal to keep and if we dont reach it, it carries over to the next week, holding us accountable - the goal is in no way unattainable, just more than we'd normally do!

I try to keep [mostly] healthy food in the house, so that we're not tempted to snack on junk. By having fresh fruit, whole grain bread, cheese, and natural nut butters on-hand, we can all snack on healthy and TASTY food whenever we get the urge.

My girls are grown now and it is just me at the house, but 2011 has been my year to really try to get more healthy. I am trying to exercise 3x/week and eat MUCH more healthy---less fast food, more fruit, etc. I LOVE Tropicana 50 orange juice (half the calories and a lighter flavor which I love!!).

These are some of the things we've done: vitamins for everyone every morning; NO boxed cereal for breakfast (we've not had boxed cereal 8 months); I look at every label and if sugar in any of its random forms shows up as one of the first three ingredients I won't buy it. That's kept us pretty healthy! We have one night a week where I'll do a treat of some sort. :)

My husband and I try to drink a lot of good filtered water throughout the day. I believe to flush and keep the body hydrated is most crucial and of course it is free (unless you get an expensive filter). I also try to make things from scratch, even if it is pizza or cookies or other desserts. I feel even if we have to eat somewhat unhealthy, I might as well make it myself and in that way I'm more in control of what's in my food.

We spend more time outside than inside, weather permitting. Lots of sports and games together. We have started making lots of smoothies! I let the kids pick the fruits and we try out new combos all the time.

I like to stock up on the healthy foods as well as choose meals that are relatively easy to make. It seems like we cut corners and eat the unhealthy food when we don't want to cook - if we choose healthy meals that are easy its a win win!

Couple things I started this year-I carry my camelback with ice water around everywhere (water tastes better from a camelback to me- it's so odd!) My kids always sipped off mine and so they each were gifted one. They drink water more often now and not nearly as much juice. Also, I keep a bag of the pre-sliced apples in the fridge (winco has the best price!) and they grab and snack easily.

My son loves orange juice, but won't drink any but Tropicana lol! What a great giveaway! We avoid high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners and try to only use palm sugar and honey. Plus, we are trying to add lots of salads in!

Healthy should be about having fun! We keep it simple in this house, we enjoy loads of fresh fruits and vegies, drink plenty of water and milk. Simple fun snacks, like apples and a dash of peanut butter for energy! spend time outdoors in the sun! and are grateful to be blessed with good health :-)

We take vitamins every morning...and we try to go on a bike ride/walk every night instead of watching tv. I have three kids ages 6, 5, and 3 and they don't even realize that they are exercising, it is just fun for them!

I require a fruit or vegetable any time they get the own lunch (and occasionally dinner). My kids are 14 and almost 11, so I don't normally fix their lunches for them at home (although I fix the lunches for school), and they will skip the fruit/veggie unless they are reminded.

My family try to eat more homemade than eating out. The kids loves veggies and fruits, I made cookies and chips for their snacks, and sourdough bread for dinner. Thank God, all my 3 kids have a perfect attendance at school. They loves sports too, and we walk them to school everyday.

Here our snow has just started melting and the kids have noticed all the pop cans in the ditches. We have started going for walks and collecting the cans. They are now taking long walks with no complaints and finding a little extra spending cash for an up coming trip we are taking.

We have chosen to eliminate sodas from our diets, eat whole grains instead of enriched wheat flour porducts, and when we make deserts it's always fun to find replacements for the fats and sugars in the recipes that still taste super yummy:) We love to stay active at the gym as well as spending quality time out in the fresh air and sunshine:)

My husband got me a wheat grinder and that is all we use. I make everything that calls for flour with hard red wheat, cookies, cakes, noodles, you name it. My children have never even noticed. I think grinding it yourself makes a big difference in the taste.

We've found that keeping fresh cut fruit and veggies ready along with easy to reach water glasses helps alot for on the go, playing outside kiddos. We also do our very best to discuss what a healthy lifestyle and healthy foods are so that they learn as they go.

We only use natural cleaners in our home, my children play outside in the fresh air a lot. TV is limited.We try to make most meals from scratch with no preservatives in them. We go to the farmers markets weekly for fresh produce. We keep no junk food in the house but the children get a treat at the weekends.

The one thing I always do is to use frozen vegetables if fresh isn't an option rather than canned veggies. The canned veggies have so much added to them like salt and other stuff we really don't need to have.

My husband and I both love 7 layer salad so one or two times a month I'll make that and we'll have it for supper and/or lunches. Yes, some things in that aren't the best for us but, they are still much better than a big dinner with meats and fats that are much more than the 7 layer salad is.

We have fresh fruits and cooked veggies in glass jars--don't use plastic cuz of the chance of leaking chemicals. Make smooties with yogurt and protein powder like you said BUT make 7 servings on Sunday morning and open up capsules of powdered vits/minerals like Alpha Lipoic or CoQ10 and add to the servings, that way they're ready to go during the week. Also, buy snack size candy treats for the occasional urge that way you don't deprive but you don't overdo.

Breakfast is our favorite meal, so we always try and make the time for a good breakfast, and we try to be active every day, whether it's skiing or biking or running around in the backyard with a soccer ball.

We try to get a good rounded breakfast in them every morning. It's the only meal we know the kids will absolutely eat. Also, we call everything chicken...salmon=chicken, tilapia=chicken. We said fish once and both girls said they didn't like fish annnnnd then ate their salmon.

We eat at home alot. I have more control of added fats and incorporating fruits and veggies in the meal. Also portions are smaller than at a restaurant. I will admit the dishes are the main reason I like to go out once in a while!

The ways I try to keep my family healthy is to meal plan each week. The weekend is prep time and try to be sure we stick to it through out the week by having all the meals planned and ingredients needed. Thanks for the opportunity to win another gift card. :)

I have to control snacking with 5 kids. If they get too bored they head to the pantry, kinda like Mom! So each child has a jar with their name on it and pre-selected snacks from me and them. Usually a trail mix, raisins, a sugar treat, baggies of pretzels, etc.

They get 3 in there and that is it for each day. We can choose fruits or veggies with dip too.

Not sure everyone is into "kefir," but my daughter makes us kefir smoothies every morning...which include oranges or orange juice, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, frozen cantaloupe, etc. They are delicious and are touted to help with sicknesses. I can tell you that I've hardly been sick (maybe once) in the almost two years we've been having kefir. It's a great healthy start to the morning but tastes like dessert!

i just devised a daily food pyramid tracker flip chart. my lil girl is learning to be more aware of what she needs to eat. its tough to get all hose fruits and veggies in but webare atleast more concious.

Since I'm breastfeeding, I try to eat as healthy as possible! I have a protein shake for breakfast (and I think I'll be trying your smoothie!) and cut down on processed foods. And of course eat as many fruits and veggies as I can!

I have raised my kids and they still use some of my "tricks" on their kids - i puree leftover veggies and put them in sauce for pasta - no one can tell they r in there - i put oj on my pork roast along w/bbq sauce while it slow cooks -

We don't buy soda for home, juice, tea, water if you're thirsty. We try to spend as much time as possible outside now that it's getting nice. Drink lots of fruit smoothies.Love your recipe; I might have to try it. Think it might be god with a couple of bananas added?

I am very lucky. My kids love love love fruit. Never any problems getting them to eat fruit. They also like quite a few veggies, so I don't push it and force them to eat what they don't like. I do introduce and reintroduce new and seasonal veggies all the time and my oldest especially will try more and more.

we put sweet fruits in plain yogurt and try to eat fruits for breakfast. getting vegetables in the diet is harder, we usually cook them with lots of seasoning to make them taste better. dip would work too.songyueyu at gmail

I make sure we eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables and I keep plenty of healthy snack options on hand. I also limit sweets, sodas, fried foods and other junk food. Can't eat it if I don't bring it into the house!

The simplest thing I ever did was to let my children pick out the fruit at the roadside stands. They asked questions about unfamiliar items and usually got to try a sample. Teaching them to be adventurous as children carried over now that they are adults and they love to try new foods.

Sometimes it’s easier to serve foods in a different way if your family doesn’t like them the way they are normally prepared. Cooked spinach- yuk, cooked spinach in cream sauce – double yuk! But put spinach leaves in a salad and that’s ok!Thanks for the giveaway!email in blogger profile.

Moderation is absolutely the key. I lost 133 pounds two years ago and have gained back 11. I live by the moderation rule. Its so hard for my family sometimes, but all we can do is try and take each day as it comes.